


Frenemies

by fandomgurl77



Category: Dumbo(2019), The Greatest Showman(2017)
Genre: Amusement Park, Budding Relationship, Circus, Crush, Crying, Death, Death of parent, Electricity, Embarrassment, F/M, Falling In Love, Gen, Hospital, Loss, Mourning, Ouch, Period-Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Racism, Sad, Screaming, Singing, Surprises, Tears, Train journey, Trains, aww how cute, my first Dumbo fanfic, phillip and anne show them the ropes, poor mrs jumbo, she didnt deserve it, shouting, time-travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:47:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 11,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24038365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomgurl77/pseuds/fandomgurl77
Summary: What would happen if P.T Barnum knew about Dumbo and Dreamland?This was my very first Dumbo story, so there may be omissions/errors (such as characters I didn't know the names of at the time of writing that I do now.). For example, Collette never worked at Dreamland in this story; she was part of the Medici troupe.Also Max is a cruel ringmaster in the story, who won't flinch at "disciplining" Dumbo - you have been warned!
Relationships: Dumbo& Mrs. Jumbo, Phillip Carlyle/Anne Wheeler, W.D Wheeler/Collette Marchant
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning: As stated in the summary, there are a few scenes where a bull-hook is used on Dumbo throughout the story. Also, Mrs. Jumbo is shot in a later chapter; these parts are indicated with two exclamation marks (!!) before and after the parts concerned.

_It was 8:00 p.m. on July 6 th 1871 when the second and final show before the weekend wrapped up…_

‘THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!’ the troupe sang as Phillip and Anne did their usual showstopping sequence, which involved Phillip spinning Anne around to face him, leaning her back and kissing her; causing mixed reactions from the audience before the stands erupted with applause and cheering.

‘Fantastic job tonight, everyone!’ Phillip said after the crowds had left ten minutes later, ‘P.T would be pleased.’

‘I’m right here, Phillip’, P.T said as he walked up to him, ‘Did you not see me in the audience?’

‘Come to think of it, I thought I saw a familiar face tonight in the stands, but I later thought I was seeing things’, Phillip said, ‘Anyway, where are Charity and the girls?’

‘Oh’, P.T said, ‘They have all come down with a gastrointestinal a.k.a. stomach, bug, so they’re resting at home. Caroline wanted to come tonight, but I said that she had to stay at home, so I came on her behalf.’

‘Oh’, Phillip said, ‘I hope they get well soon.’

‘Us too’, everyone else said.

‘Thanks’, P.T said, ‘By the way, tonight’s show was spectacular, especially considering it was the 100th show since we got the tent after the fire.’

‘Oh’, Phillip said as Anne handed something to him, ‘I almost forgot about this.’

‘What is it?’ P.T asked as Phillip handed it to him.

‘It’s your birthday present from yesterday’, he said, ‘I was going to visit to give it to you, but I guess I kind of forgot about it.’

‘Anyway, thanks’, P.T said as he unwrapped the box and opened it, revealing a brand new, shiny telegraph key, ‘This is exactly what I needed anyway.’

‘I knew you would like it’, Phillip said.

‘We’re all sure that you’ll put it to good use, since you’re fluent in Morse Code’, everyone said.

‘Thank you again, Phillip’, P.T said before he left for home, ‘Good night!’

‘Goodnight!’ everyone said, ‘Say hello for us to Charity and the girls!’

‘I’m home!’ P.T said as he walked into the kitchen when he returned home.

‘Shh’, Charity said while she was sitting at the table as she looked at him, ‘Caroline and Helen are sleeping.’

‘Sorry’, P.T said when he pulled a chair out and sat down, ‘Anyway, Phillip gave me this after the show tonight.’

He showed Charity the item that had been given to him and put it on the table.

‘He got you a new telegraph key?’ she asked.

‘Yes’, P.T replied, ‘The one up on the desk in the bedroom is starting to corrode a bit, thanks to that accident with the water a few weeks ago, so I was going to get a new one anyway.’

‘Oh’, Charity said while remembering nearly tripping over his shoes in their bedroom and accidentally spilling a glass of water onto it, ‘Well, you should be more careful about where you leave your shoes, shouldn’t you?’

‘Um…I suppose I _might_ have been partially to blame for the accident’, P.T said, ‘But at least I don’t have to buy a new key now, plus I will be more careful about where I leave my shoes.’

‘I should think so’, Charity said as they both stood up and walked towards the stairs.

**Meanwhile, 48 years in the future, somewhere in Coney Island…**

‘Hm…’ a man said in his office when he saw numerous flyers advertising Barnum’s Circus on his desk and read through them, ‘What do we have here?’

‘Looks like they’re advertisements for the circus that’s co-owned by _that_ P.T Barnum guy’, another voice, the owner of which was a trapeze artist named Collette, said.

‘Yes’, the man, Max, said, ‘He’s the one who’s got us into financial difficulty.’

‘I know’, Collette said, ‘But at least we now have Mr. Vandevere to set things straight.’

‘Yes’, Max said, ‘And hopefully, thanks to Dumbo, we’ll be able to force Mr. Barnum out of business!’


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains the f-word in romanised Morse Code (my version of P.T Barnum is fluent in it.)

The following Monday, a few minutes after the show, P.T and Phillip met an unfamiliar woman who had been in the middle row of the left stand.

‘Good afternoon’, P.T said when he shook her hand, ‘I don’t think we’ve met before. Anyway, I’m P.T Barnum, co-owner of this circus.’

‘Oh’, the woman, Collette said, ‘In that case, I’m Collette Marchant. Pleased to meet you.’

‘Me too’, P.T said, ‘So, Collette, did you enjoy the show?’

‘It was spectacular, especially the trapeze act’, Collette said, ‘It just so happens that I’m an aerialist myself performing at another circus up north of here.’

Meanwhile, W.D lost grip on his bar when he heard this and fell onto a hay bale that someone had been moving across the room.

‘Oh, my goodness!’ Anne said as she climbed down to the ground from her hoop in a panic and rushed over to him, ‘W.D, are you alright?’

‘What’s going on over here?’ Phillip asked when he ran over.

‘W.D just fell from his bar’, Anne replied.

‘But don’t worry’, W.D said as he stood up and dusted himself off, ‘I’m ok.’

‘Whew!’ Phillip said in relief, ‘For a second there, I thought that you had been badly injured.’

‘I’ve been through a lot worse over my lifetime’, W.D said, knowing that only Anne and most of the other coloured acts would understand, ‘So a little bump isn’t going to put me out of action.’

‘Um…ok’, Phillip said, obviously confused with what he had just heard, ‘Anyway, I and P.T want to introduce you to someone.’

‘Ok’, Anne and W.D said as they walked over to where P.T and Collette were standing.

‘Ah, you’re here’, P.T said, ‘W.D, Anne, I would like to introduce you to Collette Marchant, an aerialist from a circus up-state.’

‘Pleased to meet you both’, Collette said.

‘I’m Anne Wheeler’, Anne said.

‘And I’m her brother, W.D’, W.D said.

Suddenly, the air was filled with the familiar sound of an elephant trumpeting. However, instead of coming from behind the tent, it came from just outside the front entrance.

‘There you are, Collette’, a man said as he walked in.

‘Ok, Max, I’m coming’, Collette said before she walked out, ‘Farewell, everyone!’

‘Goodbye!’ Anne and Phillip said.

However, W.D was looking outside with a big smile on his face.

‘W.D?’ Anne asked as she stood in front of him.

‘Oh’, W.D said, ‘It’s time to go and get changed.’

Anne then looked at Phillip as he left.

‘Do you think that…?’ Phillip asked.

‘Well, going by that display, I think so’, Anne said, ‘It used to happen all the time between you and me, didn’t it?’

‘Hey’, Phillip teased, ‘It still does! What do you call those glances I sneak your way?’

Meanwhile, Max and Collette were about to fly back home on Dumbo’s back when Max noticed a figure standing near the entrance.

‘Collette’, he said, ‘I just need to sort something out for a few minutes.’

‘Ok’, Collette said as she climbed up and sat down.

‘Ah, Mr. Barnum’, Max said as he approached him, ‘We meet again.’

‘Good afternoon, Max’, P.T said with scepticism as they shook hands, ‘What brings you here?’

‘Well, I’ve seen your advertisements around and thought I’d come to visit’, Max said.

‘I see’, P.T said, ‘So, how do you like it so far?’

This question welled up anger and disappointment in Max when he remembered that the advertisements on his desk weren’t accurate depictions of what he had seen, not to mention his circus’ financial issues.

‘You know what, Mr. Barnum?’ he said, ‘You’re a good-for-nothing conman!’

‘What?’ P.T asked, obviously insulted by this accusation, ‘And what makes you say that?’

‘Well’, Max replied, ‘Perhaps the way you advertise needs to be re-thought!’

‘In what way?’ P.T asked.

‘Isn’t it obvious?’ Max replied, ‘For starters, I’ve seen larger elephants at the zoo. Secondly, “Shortest man alive”? Come on! Any child would know better than that! And finally, what’s with the black aerialists?’

In response to this, Anne and W.D came rushing outside.

‘And what’s wrong with us performing in the show, eh?’ W.D asked.

‘Just think about it’, Max replied, ‘It’s absurd! A proper circus would even **dare** to attempt something so dumb!’

‘That’s it!’ P.T shouted, ‘You’ve done quite enough damage to my reputation, so get out!’

‘Oh’, Max said, ‘That reminds me, I’ve got something to show you, greedy peanut-eater!’

‘Dummkopf!’ P.T said.

‘Shut up and watch, dirty street urchin!’ Max shouted as he sat on Dumbo’s back, ‘This elephant can fly!’

‘You’ve got it all wrong,’ P.T said, ‘Elephants can’t fly!’

‘Dumbo can, though’, Max said, ‘Watch this.’

‘Oh yeah? P.T said, ‘Just show me!’

‘Ok, Dumbo’, Max said, ‘Lift me and Collette into the air.’

However, Dumbo stayed still on the ground.

**!!**

‘I said move!’ Max shouted as he grabbed the bull-hook he was carrying out of his jacket and probed the sharp end into the back of Dumbo’s neck, causing him to trumpet loudly in pain and lift off into the air.

In response to Max using the bull-hook, Anne ran back inside while sobbing with W.D following her while P.T had a horrified look on his face.

‘Goodbye, loser!’ Max shouted from the height of the trapeze rigging inside the tent, ‘You won’t last long once the public hear about my flying elephant; they’ll come in droves!’

‘Dit dit dah dit dit dit dah dah dit dah dit dah dit dah!’ P.T said as Dumbo flew away, leaving Phillip with a horrified expression while Lettie and some of the other performers stood nearby with confused looks.

**!!**

‘I can’t believe he’d say such a thing!’ Phillip said.

‘What?’ Lettie asked, ‘What did he say? All I heard was gibberish.’

‘He was speaking in Morse Code’, Phillip replied, ‘And that was a swear word.’

‘What was it?’ Lettie asked.

‘Well, if you really want to know’, Phillip replied, ‘I believe it was the f-word.’

It was then that Lettie faced P.T and walked over to him.

‘I **cannot** believe that you would use such language, P.T!’ she said.

‘Sorry’, P.T said, ‘I was just reacting to what **he** did to Dumbo, his elephant, and it just slipped out.’

‘What did he do then?’ Lettie said, ‘It must’ve been horrible if you reacted in _that_ way.’

**!!**

‘I just can’t believe that anyone could be so cruel’, P.T said, ‘Max used a bull-hook to stab Dumbo to force him to move when he refused to the first time.’

‘I was appalled by that as well, even though my parents, especially my father, used to mercilessly kill rodents and other so-called “pests” in front of me in hoping that I’d “man up to dealing with vermin”’, Phillip said as he walked over, ‘It also left Anne in tears due to Dumbo’s reaction.’

**!!**


	3. Chapter 3

Later that day, approximately 15 minutes before the evening show at 8:00, Anne remembered W.D’s reaction when P.T and Phillip introduced them to Collette earlier.

‘Hey, W.D’, she said, ‘Remember the woman who we introduced ourselves to after the show this morning?’

‘Um…yes’, W.D said as he tried hard to hide his feelings, ‘Her name was…um…Collette, right?’

‘W.D?’ Anne asked when she noticed something about him that she had never seen before, ‘Are you…blushing?’

‘What??’ W.D replied with a mixture of shock and embarrassment, ‘No! I’m just a bit hot, that’s all.’

‘Well then’, Anne said, ‘I suppose the way you looked to the entrance and smiled while she was leaving was just a coincidence.’

‘Well’, W.D said as his face turned slightly red again, ‘She…she’s a respectable young woman…who also happens to be a trapeze artist.’

‘W.D’, Anne said a few seconds later, ‘You like her, don’t you?’

‘Ok…I give up’, W.D said, ‘I suppose she _may_ have put a spell on me…’

‘I knew it!’ Anne said, ‘I’m going to tell Phillip that my suspicions are true.’

‘What suspicions?’ Phillip asked as he walked into the room.

‘W.D admitted that he likes that Collette woman’, Anne said.

‘Well’, W.D said, ‘I didn’t use those words exactly…’

‘I see’, Phillip said, ‘So our suspicions this morning were correct, then.’

‘I suppose so’, W.D admitted, ‘But, please don’t tell anyone else about what happened.’

‘Ok’, Phillip and Anne said, ‘Our lips are sealed.’

‘Thank you’, W.D said.

The next day, Phillip noticed something on the back page of the morning paper that shocked him.

‘I can’t believe this!’ he said, ‘That swine!’

‘What is it?’ Chang and Eng asked as they walked over from the other side of the tent.

‘It’s this’, Phillip replied when he pointed out a sentence inside a box in the “Local Events” section, ‘P.T would be very interested to know about this.’

**A few seconds later…**

‘P.T’, Phillip said when he opened the door to the tearoom and walked over to the table, ‘I’ve got something to show you.’

‘Ok’, P.T said, ‘What is it?’

‘It’s in the “Local Events” section of the paper’, Phillip said as he turned to the last page and put the paper on the table before pointing to the bottom-left corner.

“You’re a mischievous lying bigot!” the sentence in the box read.

‘Hold on!’ P.T said when he noticed a tiny line of barely readable characters below it, ‘Something doesn’t look right here…’

“-Max Medici”, the characters read.

‘Seriously?’ P.T said, ‘You’d think that he’d be over what happened yesterday by now.’

‘Yes’, Phillip said.

‘This is preposterous!’ P.T said, ‘The short half-bald fool seriously needs to get his act together and stop behaving like a young child throwing a tantrum!’

‘Hey!’ Charles said at the door, ‘I heard that!’

‘No, no, Charles, I wasn’t referring to you’, P.T said, ‘You’re perfect exactly the way you are.’

At 1:00 p.m. that Friday, P.T dismissed the troupe for the weekend, since there were no more shows scheduled for the day.

‘That’s it for this week’, he said, ‘Have a good weekend, everyone.’

‘We will’, the troupe said collectively before P.T left.

‘So, what are you guys going to get up to this weekend?’ Lettie said to Phillip and Anne with a slightly cheeky grin on her face, ‘Like I can’t already guess…’

‘Hey’, Phillip said in defence, ‘What are you suggesting?’

‘Actually’, Anne said when she noticed Lettie’s grin, ‘We were thinking of going up-state for the weekend.’


	4. Chapter 4

‘Well, Anne’, Phillip said when the carriage disappeared down the road, ‘We’re here.’

‘WOW!’ Anne said as she marvelled at the huge amusement park in front of them, ‘You’re taking me to Dreamland??’

‘I knew you’d love it’, Phillip said before he gave her a quick kiss, ‘I’ve heard that this is where Dumbo and the rest of Medici’s troupe performs now, since Mr. Vandevere, the park’s owner, bought the struggling circus.’

**Later that evening…**

‘Dumbo’, Anne whispered as she tip-toed to where the young elephant was standing, I have something to tell you.’

‘Ok’, Dumbo whispered.

‘You know how your ears are much larger than usual, right?’ Anne asked.

‘Yes’, Dumbo said, ‘Their size gives me the ability to fly.’

‘Well’, Anne said, ‘I’ve got a photo here of one of the elephants at Barnum’s Circus’, Anne whispered when she showed him the photo, ‘His name is Jumbo.’

Dumbo looked at the photo and noticed Jumbo’s large ears.

‘Dad??’ he asked as he began to tear up.

‘Aww, it’s ok’. Anne replied as she placed her hand on his head, ‘Jumbo has always been an excellent performer in shows.’

‘Really?’ Dumbo asked, ‘But, he can’t fly though, can he?’

‘No, but that’s what makes you unique’, Anne replied just as Phillip walked over, ‘He’d be very proud of his son’s achievement and fame.’

‘I wish I could go to meet him’, Dumbo said disappointedly, ‘But, they won’t let me.’

‘I see…’ Anne began before she heard a male voice coming from around the corner.

‘Anne’, Phillip whispered, ‘We need to go.’

‘Ok, Dumbo, I need to go now’, Anne said, ‘You can keep the photo.’

‘Ok’, Dumbo whispered, ‘Goodbye.’

‘Hey!’ the owner of the voice, Max, shouted at Dumbo as Anne and Phillip were walking towards the road, ‘Give me that photograph!’

Dumbo placed the photo under his foot and trumpeted loudly in protest.

‘All right then’, Max said to V.A Vandevere, who was wielding a bull-hook, ‘Looks like we’ll have to do this the hard way, then.’

Upon seeing the weapon in Mr. Vandevere’s hand, Dumbo lifted his foot, revealing the photo.

Max picked the photo up and was furious with what he saw.

‘Who gave you this??’ he asked angrily.

However, there was no response to the question.

‘You’re keeping quiet, eh?’ Max said before he looked at Mr. Vandevere, ‘Maybe you need to be reminded of the consequences of disobedience.’

**!!**

Suddenly, Mr. Vandevere struck Dumbo hard on the side with the heavy, wooden end of the bull-hook, causing him to trumpet loudly in pain and point his trunk towards the road.

However, after Max and Mr. Vandevere came back, they were even more angry at him.

‘You…stupid…four-legged pile of trash!’ Max screamed while Mr. Vandevere prodded Dumbo behind the ear, before moving to his legs, causing him to submit and lie down in fear of having more pain inflicted on him.

**!!**

‘Right, Dumbo!’ Max said as he showed him the photo and tore it into tiny pieces, ‘We have a new routine for you for tomorrow evening’s show, and you better do it **perfectly** , or there’ll be more of what happened tonight.’

‘Training starts at 8:00 a.m.’, Mr. Vandevere said with an evil grin on his face, ‘I’d get a good night’s sleep, if I were you…’


	5. Chapter 5

Half an hour after breakfast the next morning, Phillip and Anne met W.D at the train station.

‘Good morning, W.D’, Phillip said, ‘How was the ride up from Michigan?’

‘It was good’, W.D said, ‘Well, as good as it could be with the segregation and all…’

‘I know what you mean’, Anne said, ‘I had to wear a scarf, gloves and a hat to hide my skin just so I could stay with Phillip, even though we’re in the middle of summer.’

‘Tell me about it’, W.D said, ‘If I was sweating constantly for three hours until I stepped out of the carriage, you must have been absolutely boiling with all that extra clothing on.’

‘Yes’, Anne said, ‘I was so tempted to remove the extra items, but I knew that people would have seen my skin, and goodness knows what would have happened then…’

‘Anyway’, Phillip said, ‘Last night we saw Dumbo’s performance down the road.’

‘I see’, W.D said.

‘By the way’, Anne said, ‘He was performing with Collette.’

Upon hearing this, W.D’s face turned slightly red.

‘Oh’, he said, ‘I wish that I could come and watch.’

‘Maybe you can’, Phillip said, ‘The next show starts at 7:00 tonight, so why not come along with us?’

‘Ok, I will’, W.D said.

Later that day, Phillip and Anne left W.D in the hotel room to go to the general store downstairs.

‘We’ll just be in the shop below to buy something for lunch’, Phillip said, ‘We’ll be back as soon as possible.’

‘Ok’, W.D said before Anne closed the door, ‘See you later.’

**A few seconds later…**

‘Finally’, Anne said as she finished descending the stairs while Phillip waited at the bottom, ‘Those stairs are utter Bedlam.’

‘I thought you were good at climbing up and down things’, Phillip said.

‘I may be able to while performing’, Anne said, ‘But I’m not that good when it comes to stairs.’

‘Maybe a kiss will make you feel better’, Phillip said before he hugged and kissed her, causing a group of three people who were walking up to the stairs to stop and turn their noses up before carrying on.

‘Anyway’, Anne said a second later, ‘We better go to the shop.’

‘I agree’, Phillip said as they walked out the main door and towards the shop, ‘W.D’s waiting for us back in the room.’

**In the shop…**

‘What do you think?’ Anne asked while looking in the glass cabinet, ‘Should we get this one or that one?’

‘Are you sure that you want to get anything else for lunch?’ Phillip said, ‘I mean, you’ve already chosen to get two egg sandwiches and an iced tea, while I’m getting a chocolate fudge slice for all of us.’

‘I suppose you’re right’, Anne said, ‘Let’s go up to the counter and pay.’

However, just as Phillip was about to pay a minute later, the man standing at the till noticed Anne’s skin.

‘Hey, mam’, he said in a slightly angry voice, ‘We do **not** serve your kind here!’ Get out!’

In response to this, Phillip stopped dead in his tracks and faced the man.

‘And **who** are you to say that, eh?’ he asked angrily.

‘Whoa, mate’, the man replied, ‘I’m just saying that we don’t want _them_ in our store!’

‘ _What_ did you just say about my girlfriend!?’ Phillip asked.

Upon hearing this, the man erupted with laughter.

‘ _Girlfriend_??’ he asked, ‘You’re together with _that_ thing??’

‘Yes, I am’, Phillip replied as he pulled the man closer to him, ‘And Anne is **not** an object; she’s a respectable young woman!’

‘Whoa, Phillip’, Anne said to him, ‘Time to calm down and pay.’

‘Ok, I guess’, Phillip said as he handed five dollars over.

‘Thank you’, the man said.

‘Same to you, I suppose’, Phillip said while he and Anne left with their purchases.

After the show that evening, while V.A Vandevere, Max and the troupe (except Collette) were at the restaurant down the road and around the corner for dinner, W.D was talking with Phillip, Anne and Collette in the ring.

‘That was amazing tonight, Collette’, W.D said, ‘You and Dumbo have grown so close.’

‘Thank you’, Collette said, ‘I really appreciate it.’

Over the next few seconds, she and W.D were looking into each other’s eyes longingly.

‘Um…Phillip?’ Anne whispered, ‘It might be best to leave for a short time.’

‘Oh’, Phillip whispered when he noticed what was happening, ‘I think so too.’

However, just after they had left the ring, Collette shook her head disappointedly, stood up and walked over to her bar.

It was then that W.D let his true feelings for her out and began singing as he approached her.

‘ _You know I want you, it’s not a secret I try to hide…_ ’ he began.

Upon hearing this, Anne and Phillip immediately stopped and turned around.

‘Is that…’ Phillip said as they rushed back to the entrance.

 _‘W.D?’_ Anne thought when she saw him and Collette singing together while flying around the ring on the trapeze equipment.

It was then that she heard a familiar line in the song they were singing.

 _‘Why don’t we rewrite the stars?’_ they sang harmoniously as they embraced while flying around on the bar.

‘Well, I’ll be’, Phillip sobbed, ‘They’re singing our song.’

‘Phillip’, Anne said when she looked at him, ‘Are you crying?’

‘What?’ Phillip said in a mixture of shock and embarrassment, ‘No! Something was in my eyes, that was all.’

‘Ok’, Anne said, ‘If you say so.’

Meanwhile, just after W.D and Collette landed in the middle of the ring, she ended the song the same way that Anne had done with Phillip a few nights before the fire and left the ring, leaving W.D confused and heartbroken.

‘W.D!’ Anne said as she walked over to him, ‘I didn’t know you could sing like that!’

‘It’s all over…’ W.D said, ‘She broke my heart…’

‘What?’ Anne asked.

‘Don’t you get it, Anne?’ W.D replied when he turned to face her, ‘She dumped me; said we can’t be together.’

‘I see’, Anne said, ‘Well then, I and Phillip may be able to help you two realise that it is possible for you to be in an inter-racial relationship.’

‘Yes’, Phillip said, ‘Even though society in general disapproves of such things, you can build up the courage within yourselves and be proud of your achievement.’

‘I suppose you’re right’, W.D said, ‘But where do I start?’

‘Just start by holding a short conversation’, Phillip said, ‘Tell each other about yourselves.’


	6. Chapter 6

At 10:30 a.m. the following Wednesday, P.T received a letter from the founder of the New York Herald, James Bennett, stating that he wanted to see him regarding the “Local Events Page” in the newspaper over the past few days.

‘Phillip’, he said as the troupe was in the main ring in their starting positions while the stands began to fill with people, ‘I’ve got something to tell you.’

‘What is it?’ Phillip said, ‘The show’s about to start.’

‘I received a letter this morning from Mr. Bennett asking me to go and see him over the newspaper’, P.T said.

‘Ok’, Phillip said before he left for the front of the main ring, ‘See you later, then.’

‘Ok’, P.T said, ‘Wish me luck.’

**Twenty minutes later…**

‘Good morning, Mr. Bennett’, P.T said as he sat down in the chair in front of Mr. Bennett’s desk in his office, ‘What have you summoned me here for?’

‘The reason why I bought you here is to talk about your use of the “Local Events” page in the newspaper over the last few days, Mr. Barnum’, Mr. Bennett said, ‘It has come to my attention that some of your content was unsuitable to be published.’

‘What do you mean?’ P.T asked.

‘I cut out and saved a copy of your and Max Medici’s content from each newspaper since Saturday, after being informed about it by a censor’, Mr. Bennett replied.

‘In what way did it need to be censored?’ P.T asked before he remembered what he and Max had said to each other since Saturday.

 _‘Oh…’_ he thought.

‘These are samples of the offending content’, Mr. Bennett replied when he placed eight different pieces of paper on the desk, ‘Take a look at what they say.’

‘Ok’, P.T said.

He was horrified to discover that the messages contained words and phrases such as _flopdoodle, coward, twit, cheapskate, cane-wielding idiot, and even the f-word._

‘Oh my…I _may_ have gone a tiny bit too far with some of those…’, he said, ‘Anyway, I am terribly sorry for all of the trouble I’ve caused.’

‘Apology accepted’, Mr. Bennett said, ‘However, you and Max will be banned from advertising in the newspaper for a year.’

‘Ok’, P.T said disappointedly, ‘I suppose you’re right.’

Ten minutes later, P.T stood outside the circus tent where he could hear the lions roaring before the audience cheered and clapped.

_‘The new routine!’_ he thought as he rushed towards the entrance, before he was stopped by a security guard named Michael.

‘Sorry’, Michael said as he moved in front of the entrance, ‘No entry without a ticket.’

‘It’s me, you fool’, P.T said, ‘I’m P.T Barnum, founder and co-owner.’

‘Hm…’ Michael said as he thought about this for a second, ‘You don’t sound or look like him, ruffian!’

‘Hey!’ P.T said when Michael began dragging him away by the collar, ‘Let me go this instant, flopdoodle!’

The commotion caused the show to come to an abrupt stop before Phillip, Anne and some of the other performers ran out, only to see P.T being dragged away.

‘Oh, my goodness!’ Phillip shouted in shock while Charles almost fell over laughing at the scene before them.

‘Oh, Phillip’, P.T said, ‘Can you please get Michael here to let me go?’

‘Ok’, Phillip said before he walked up to him.

‘Michael’, Phillip said, ‘You can let him go. He’s the real P.T Barnum.’

In response, Michael released his grip on P.T’s collar, causing him to lose balance and fall backwards into the dust, to which Charles burst out laughing again.

‘It’s _not_ funny, Charles!’ Lettie said, as they and the others rushed towards him, ‘He may be injured.’

‘Are you ok, P.T?’ Phillip said, ‘That was some ordeal.’

‘Yes, I’m fine’, P.T said as he stood up and dusted himself off, ‘I’ll probably need a drink and a rest after that.’

‘I’m terribly sorry, P.T’, Michael said while looking down, ‘I thought you were one of the usual protestors. Anyway, please don’t fire me.’

‘That’s ok’, P.T said, ‘You were only doing your job.’


	7. Chapter 7

At 10:05 that night, while V.A Vandevere, Max and the rest of the troupe were at home sleeping, Collette, who had managed to avoid detection by hiding in the back of the tent, walked to where Dumbo was chained up.

‘Alright, Dumbo’, she said as she unlocked the chain around his leg, ‘Are you ready?’

‘Definitely’, Dumbo said, ‘Anything to meet my father.’

‘Ok then’, Collette said, ‘Do you know where he is?’

‘Yes’, Dumbo said, ‘I just need to fly to Michigan and look for the giant red and white striped tent, right?’

‘Yes’, Collette said before Dumbo took off, ‘I’ll be here for when you return.’

‘Ok then’, Dumbo said, ‘See you later.’

**Approximately one hour later…**

‘Dad?’ Dumbo asked after he landed behind the big red and white striped tent and started walking around, ‘Where are you?’

A few seconds later, he heard a faint trumpeting sound coming from behind a wooden barn-like structure.

‘DAD!’ he thought as he ran over to the source of the sound and disappeared around the corner of the building.

‘Oh, my goodness, son!’ Jumbo exclaimed with a quiet voice, ‘How’s it going up north?’

‘Well’, Dumbo said, ‘It’s pretty much the same as what you are doing here, apart from the fact that I can fly, which audiences can’t seem to get enough of.’

‘Anyway’, Jumbo said, ‘How’s your mother?’

‘Oh’, Dumbo said with tears forming in his eyes, ‘We were forcibly separated not long after I was born…’

_An elephant was pulling a wooden cart that had been modified to look like a baby carriage around the ring inside the Medici Bros. Circus tent in Joplin, Missouri, while the audience cheered. However, things started to go wrong when Dumbo sucked up a woman’s hat and sneezed, the recoil causing him to fly backwards through the side of the cart and stop in the middle of the ring where the audience could see his ears._

_‘Hey, look at the name!’ a man said while pointing and laughing along with much of the audience, ‘DUMBO!!’_

_‘Dumbo!! Dumbo!!’ the audience chanted as they threw peanuts at him as the other two elephants were spooked by the noise._

_All of this caused Dumbo’s mother, Mrs. Jumbo, to charge through the side of the tent and into the ring to protect Dumbo from harm; however she accidentally snapped one of the main supports holding the tent up, causing it to collapse in a shower of sparks from the light fixtures and wires while killing one of the animal handlers._

_‘The tent has collapsed and one of my men is dead!’ Max said in a panic, ‘What do we do now? We need to get rid of that elephant!’_

_That night, Dumbo slowly and sadly walked up to the cart that Mrs. Jumbo was chained up in._

‘So, Dumbo’, Collette said after he returned home, ‘Did you find your father?’

‘Yes, I did’, Dumbo said, ‘I told him about my ability to fly and how the audience loves it and about how I and Mum were separated.’


	8. Chapter 8

Four weeks later, on the second Saturday in August, Phillip and Anne were at the entrance of Dreamland again.

‘Right, Anne’, Phillip said when he took her hand and they walked in, attracting dubious stares and remarks, ‘What should we do first?’

However, before Anne could respond, she heard an all-too-familiar voice behind her, the owner of which turned out to be Phillip’s father, Kurt Carlyle.

‘Phillip!’ he said, causing him to turn around, ‘I and Mum thought we told you to stop this charade with the girl!’

‘Not again, Father!’ Phillip said as he facepalmed, ‘I’ve told you time and time again that I will **never** be coming home! Why do you have to always turn up to spoil our fun?’

‘Because you’re ruining both your and our reputation, that’s why’, Kurt said, ‘The circus is no place for a young socialite like you.’

‘I don’t care!’ Phillip said, ‘I’m going to live how _I_ want to live and that’s final!’

Suddenly, V.A Vandevere appeared and told them to leave immediately.

‘Pardon me, you three’, he said, ‘But I’m afraid you’ll have to leave. This is a family-friendly park and we can’t have people arguing in front of children.’

‘Oh, ok then’, Phillip said.

‘Sorry, Mr. Vandevere’, Kurt said, ‘It’s just that my son and I don’t seem to get along very well.’

‘I’m terribly sorry that my father had to turn up and ruin our plans, again’, Phillip said as he and Anne stood outside the entrance, ‘Today was supposed to be filled with fun and excitement.’

‘It’s okay’, Anne said, ‘We could always go to the restaurant around the corner for lunch.’

‘I suppose so’, Phillip said, ‘But what if people react the way that they were looking at us in Dreamland? I just don’t want us to be kicked out, again.’

‘I know’, Anne said, ‘That Mr. Vandevere guy was bad enough…’

Suddenly, a carriage pulled by two black stallions pulled up in front of them while voices could be heard inside.

‘There!’ a male voice shouted while pointing to Anne, ‘There’s our prize!’

The man and his colleague ran over to where Phillip and Anne were standing and began pulling Anne towards the carriage.

‘Phillip!’ Anne shouted before a large sack was put over her head and tied closed.

‘Anne!’ Phillip shouted before a hand blocked his mouth and pulled him back.

‘DON’T MOVE!!’ Mr. Vandevere said when he let go of him, ‘The girl is going to take a, let’s just say, “little trip.”

‘What are you going to do with her?’ Phillip asked in a panicked voice.

‘Oh, she’ll be looked after by my employees _very_ well. don’t you worry’, Mr. Vandevere replied with a slightly evil grin on his face.


	9. Chapter 9

Back at the telegraph exchange in Manhattan, where P.T was sitting in for a friend who was in hospital recovering from an accident at the bar the previous night, a message had just been received for W.D:

_-.. . .- .-. .-- .-.-.- -.. .-- .... . . .-.. . .-. --..--_

_.--. .-.. . .- ... . -... --- .- .-. -.. - .... . ...-- ---... .---- ..... - .-. .- .. -. - --- -.-. --- -. . -.-- .. ... .-.. .- -. -.. .-.-.- - .-- --- -- . -. .. -. -... .-.. .- -.-. -.- - .- .. .-.. -.-. --- .- - ... .-- .. .-.. .-.. -... . .-- .- .. - .. -. --. - --- --. .. ...- . .- -. .. -- .--. --- .-. - .- -. - -- . ... ... .- --. . - --- -.-- --- ..- .- -... --- ..- - -.-- --- ..- .-. ... .. ... - . .-. --..-- .- -. -. . .-.-.-_

_.-. . --. .- .-. -.. ... --..--_

_...- .-.-.- .- ...- .- -. -.. . ...- . .-. ._

_(English Translation of the above message:_

_Dear W.D Wheeler,_

_Please board the 3:15 train to Coney Island. Two men in black tailcoats will be waiting to give an important message to you about your sister, Anne._

_Regards,_

_V.A Vandevere)_

‘Oh my’, P.T thought as he stood up from his desk, ‘I need to go and tell W.D immediately about what has happened to Anne!’

**Two minutes later…**

‘Phillip’, P.T said as he ran through the entrance of the tent, ‘Have you seen W.D?’

‘P.T, I have some terrible news’, Phillip said, ‘Anne’s been abducted!’

‘I know’, P.T said, ‘However, I’ve got a telegram from someone known as “V.A. Vandevere” who says to board the 3:15 train to Coney Island where a couple of men will meet and tell him what happened to her.’

‘Hm…are you sure about doing this?’ Phillip asked, ‘I mean, that guy is a bit of a jerk; trust me, I and Anne were in Dreamland, his amusement park, yesterday and were kicked out along with my father for arguing, even though my father started it by turning up in the first place.’

‘Dah, it will be ok’, P.T said, ‘Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?’

‘Here I am, P.T’, W.D said as he walked up to him, ‘You said you had a message for me regarding Anne’s whereabouts; something about boarding a train to Coney Island, if I’m correct.’

‘Yes’, P.T said as he gave him the telegram.

‘Thank you’, W.D said.


	10. Chapter 10

‘Finally’, W.D thought at the end of the train’s journey to Coney Island, ‘I’m coming to rescue you, Anne!’

However, he soon realised that something was slightly amiss.

‘Hold on’, he said as he looked around the carriage, ‘Where is everybody?’

‘Suddenly, a man wearing a black tailcoat pulled his arms behind his back and tied them tightly while his friend covered his mouth with a cloth that had been soaked in chloroform.

‘What’s h-hap…’ W.D began before he passed out.

‘Right, he’s out cold’, one of the men said as they both began carrying him to a wheeled bed in the carriage behind them, ‘We have to get him to the house.'

‘The boss will be very pleased that we have caught Anne’s brother’, the other man laughed.

However, Dumbo saw them wheel W.D out of the station and into a run-down house across the road, so he flew to Manhattan to notify P.T and the rest of the troupe.

‘Dumbo?’ Phillip asked as he ran outside towards the small elephant, ‘Why are you here?’

However, Phillip then noticed that something was wrong when Dumbo ran inside.

‘Dumbo!’ Phillip said as he followed, ‘Wait!’

‘What the…?’ Lettie said as Dumbo approached her, ‘And who do we have here?’

‘Awww…’ Charles said as he walked over, ‘He’s so cute!’

‘I don’t remember any of the elephants having such large ears’, Deng said.

‘Us neither’, Chang and Eng said.

‘Phew!’ Phillip said as he walked over, ‘You found him.’

‘Or you could say that he found us’, Lettie said, ‘Anyway, what’s his name?’

‘His name is Dumbo’, Phillip said, ‘He performs at Dreamland up north.’

‘I see’, Lettie said, ‘Why is he here then?’

‘I think he might want to tell us something’, Phillip said.

It was then that Phillip realised that W.D hadn’t returned or sent a message back yet.

‘Oh, my goodness!’ he said, ‘I think W.D must be in trouble!’

Dumbo nodded his head in response.

‘I heard everything from behind the hall door’, P.T said as he walked in, ‘W.D’s in trouble and we need to go to Coney Island to rescue him and Anne.’

‘Yes’, Phillip said, ‘I’ll fly up with Dumbo, while you and everyone else, minus the animal caretakers of course, can come up by train.’

‘Ok’, P.T said, ‘See you there.’ See you later’, Phillip said before he sat on Dumbo’s back and they took off.

‘Ugh…’ W.D thought when he woke up a few hours later in a dark and cold room, ‘Where am I?’

‘You passed out on the train’, one of the men who had been wearing a black tailcoat earlier on said, ‘So we bought you here to recover.’

‘Wait a minute!’ W.D said when he remembered the telegram that P.T had given him, ‘Where’s Anne?’

‘Oh’, the man said, ‘She’s upstairs recovering from an incident at Dreamland yesterday.’

‘I’ve got to go up and see her’, W.D said.

However, as soon as he tried to stand up, the two men pushed him back onto the sofa.

‘Um…she doesn’t want to see you, so that won’t be necessary’, they said, ‘Besides, it’s getting late.’


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a section surrounded by groups of two bold exclamation marks (!!) that is rated E for explicit sexual content.

‘Now’s my chance to find out what’s happened to Anne’, W.D thought as he made his way to the stairs as quietly as possible, since the two men who had bought him to the house in the first place were asleep in the kitchen.

When he got to the top of the stairs, he could hear a weird noise coming from one of the two bedrooms.

‘Anne?’ he whispered as he walked to the left-hand side of the hallway and opened the door, ‘Are you in here?’

However, no-one was in the room, so he closed the door.

‘Hm…’ he thought, ‘She must be in the other bedroom.’

As he approached the door of the other room, he heard a distinctly male voice coming from inside.

**!!**

‘Oh baby…’ the voice said.

‘Don’t worry, Anne, I’m coming to…’ W.D said as he opened the door, only to be appalled with what he saw; Anne had been blindfolded and coerced into fellating the man who he had heard a few seconds earlier.

‘WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE!?’ W.D shouted when he closed the door.

‘Shut up and get out, twit!’ the other man, John, shouted as he hastily withdrew from Anne’s mouth, ‘I’ll have you both killed otherwise!’

‘You’re a disgusting, twisted animal!’ W.D shouted, ‘Especially for forcing my sister to do that…unmentionable activity **against her will**!!’

**!!**

‘You’re her brother, eh?’ John said, ‘Well then, let’s make a deal; you don’t tell anyone about what you just saw, and your lives will be spared.’

‘Anne’, W.D said after John hastily closed the door and left, ‘Are you ok?’

‘Ugh’, Anne said when she stood up, ‘What happened? And why do I have this funny taste inside my mouth?’

‘Never mind what happened’, W.D said as he removed the blindfold, ‘At least you’re safe now.’

**Meanwhile, across the road at the train station…**

‘Right’, P.T said as he and the rest of the troupe disembarked the train just as Phillip and Dumbo landed in front of them, ‘All we have to do now is find Anne and W.D.’

‘I have a good feeling as to where they might be’, Phillip said.

‘Where is that?’ P.T asked.

‘Well, earlier today, I think Dumbo might have seen two men in the same black coats that were described in the telegram take an unconscious W.D into the abandoned house directly across the road’, Phillip replied.

‘Are you sure about taking directions from an elephant?’ P.T asked.

‘Does this face look like it’s lying?’ Phillip asked, referring to the “puppy-like” look on Dumbo’s face, which convinced much of the rest of the troupe.

‘Come on, P.T’, Lettie said, ‘How could you possibly say no to _that_?’

‘You know what?’ P.T said reluctantly, ‘Maybe you’re right. Maybe Dumbo does know where W.D is.’

‘Ok then’, Phillip said as they started crossing the road, ‘Let’s go!’


	12. Chapter 12

‘Ok, we’re here’, P.T said as he and the rest of the troupe stood outside the abandoned house, ‘What do we do now?’

‘We need to check if the coast is clear before we can go in’, Phillip replied as he turned the knob on the front door, which fell off its hinges and crashed to the floor as soon as it was moved.

‘Well…’ Phillip said, ‘Getting in was easy enough.’

‘I’d be careful if I were you…’ a female voice with a distinctly French accent said from outside.

‘What the…’ Phillip said as he and everyone else turned to face the voice’s owner, ‘What business do you have with rescuing W.D?’

‘Oh my. W.D’s in trouble, you say?’ said the owner of the voice, who was none other than Collette Marchant, ‘How’s about I join you in searching for him, then?’

‘Ok’, P.T said, ‘But why did you advise us to be careful in here?’

‘The two men who live here work for Mr. Vandevere’, Collette said, ‘If he finds out what we’re doing, let’s just say, it won’t be pretty; he’s got some serious anger management issues. Trust me, I’ve seen it all before.’

‘What happened?’ P.T asked.

‘Well, a few weeks ago, the log flume in the centre of the park had broken down, so a mechanic came and fixed the issue…or tried to anyway. Because of the perceived incompetence of the mechanic, Mr. Vandevere immediately fired him, kicked all the guests out of the park, chained the gates locked and called the ringmaster, Baritone Bates, a few highly insulting names before storming off to his palace-like quarters at the back of the park’, Collette replied.

‘I see’, Phillip said, ‘No wonder I didn’t like his demeanour when I and Anne first visited Dreamland a week ago.’

‘I know’, Collette said, ‘I really hope he never takes his anger out on the park’s electrical system; he could easily burn the place down and injure people, or worse...’

Suddenly, W.D fell down the stairs because it was so dark and ended up knocking P.T over as well.

‘Oh, my goodness!’ Phillip said, ‘P.T, are you ok?’

‘I think so’, he said when he stood up before he noticed a slight tear on one sleeve of his coat, ‘This will need to be fixed though; if only I had bought my sewing kit with me…’

‘Ah, there’s no light or candles in here for you to fix it anyway’, Phillip said as W.D stood up and saw Collette standing in front of him.

‘Hello W.D’, she said, ‘I see that you’re ok.’

‘Uh…yes’, W.D said as they hugged, ‘I heard voices down here, so I decided to come down to investigate, but I ended up tripping in the darkness and rolling down the stairs. Anyway, Anne is still up in the bedroom to the right at the top of the stairs.’

‘What?’ Phillip said, ‘She’s here too?’

‘Yes’, W.D said, ‘But I wouldn’t…’

‘Oh my!’ Phillip exclaimed as he ran up the stairs, only to bang his knee on the bannister at the top.

‘OW!!’ he yelled in pain, waking the sleeping men in the kitchen.

‘HEY!!’ they shouted as they headed towards P.T and the troupe before one ran after Phillip, ‘You aren’t authorised to be here; this isn’t a circus, you know.’

‘Actually, these people, including the man who your friend is chasing after, _are_ my circus troupe’, P.T said, ‘And I’m P.T Barnum.’

‘But…’ the ugly looking skin-headed man said, ‘You’re a lowly tailor’s boy! The only ring you should be in is a sewing circle!’

‘Very funny’, P.T said, ‘It’s not like I’ve never heard those insults before.’

Suddenly, the skin-head attempted to knee P.T between the legs, but he swiftly moved backwards, causing him to lose balance before collapsing in a heap and twisting his ankle.

‘AAAHH!!’ he screamed in pain, ‘Man down! Sound the alarm!!’

Upon hearing this, Collette turned to face W.D.

‘Oh no…’ she said, ‘This can only mean one thing…’

‘What’s that?’ W.D asked.

Just then, Mr. Vandevere appeared outside while carrying a baseball bat-like weapon that had a metal spike at the end.

‘Who are you people!?’ he shouted, ‘How dare you wake the most important person in the world up at this hour!?’

‘ **Your** ugly fiends were holding my trapeze artists, Anne and W.D, here **against their will**!!’ P.T shouted.

‘He’s right, you know’, Phillip said as he returned downstairs with Anne, ‘By the way, one of your skin-heads is barricaded in the bedroom where I found Anne.’

Mr. Vandevere then looked at P.T angrily.

‘Get out of my way, sassy ringmaster!’ he shouted as he roughly shoved him against the wall before storming over to Phillip and Anne, when he heard a trumpeting noise outside.

‘What is that!?’ he said as he walked outside, only to see Dumbo standing in front of him.

**!!**

‘You won’t get away with this, you big-eared pachyderm!!’ he shouted as he raised the bull-hook he was wielding and struck Dumbo over the head, causing him to trumpet loudly and collapse.

‘STOP!! LEAVE HIM ALONE THIS INSTANT!’ P.T roared as he took his coat off and gave it to Phillip, ran outside and tackled Mr. Vandevere to the ground, causing him to drop the weapon.

‘Let go of me, turnip-head!!’ Mr. Vandevere screamed before slapping P.T hard in the face, knocking him off and causing his nose to bleed.

‘Are you ok??’ a man asked P.T as he opened his eyes.

‘Yes, Phillip’, P.T replied, ‘I’m fi…’

‘AAHHH!’ P.T shrieked with an embarrassingly high-pitched squeal when he realised that this man was not Phillip, even though he was wearing a red coat, ‘Who are you?’

‘I’m the ringmaster at Dreamland, Baritone Bates’, the man said as he helped P.T to stand up, ‘You need a handkerchief for your nose.’

‘Thanks’, P.T said when he gave him his spare handkerchief as Dumbo stood up in a dazed state.

**!!**

Meanwhile, Dumbo’s mother, Mrs. Jumbo, had broken free of her chains and charged towards the entrance of Dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now know that V.A Vandevere's office is at the top of the Tower in Dreamland, not the other building as mentioned in the chapter - I had only seen the film once at the time of writing and missed a lot of details.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: As stated at the beginning of the story, Mrs. Jumbo is shot in this chapter.

A few minutes later, Mr. Vandevere noticed that Baritone Bates had come to investigate what was going on.

‘Sorry Mr. Bates’, he said, ‘There’s nothing to see here.’

‘Is that so?’ Mr. Bates said, ‘Because I found this man lying on the road with a bleeding nose!’

‘Listen, you discredited singer!’ Mr. Vandevere screamed in his face, ‘Mr. Fancy-Pants came here with his circus troupe to rescue the two…’

‘Don’t you **dare** say another word!’ Phillip shouted, ‘I know what you were thinking of saying, and it’s horribly ugly and racist!’

‘What right do **you** have to tell _me_ what to do or say?’ Mr. Vandevere said, ‘You and everyone else in the troupe are nothing but a bunch of rock-brained ninnies anyway!’

Suddenly, Mrs. Jumbo charged relentlessly towards him.

‘AAAHHH!!’ Mr. Vandevere screamed in terror as the huge elephant reared up onto her hind legs in front of him, in preparation to stomp on him, ‘Someone get me a weapon to fend off this beast!!’

 **!!** ‘Right with you, boss!’ one of the skin-heads, Skellig, said before he pulled the trigger on his shotgun a few times, causing Mrs. Jumbo to collapse.

‘YOU EVIL MONSTERS!!’ Mr. Bates and P.T screamed to both Mr. Vandevere and Skellig while Dumbo trumpeted loudly in distress, ‘How could you do such a thing to **Dumbo’s mother**!?’

‘Stop being such babies, reprobates!’ Mr. Vandevere shouted, ‘She was a condemned beast anyway!’

‘What’s going on here?’ a short half-bald man asked as he approached the scene, only to be horrified when he saw a lifeless Mrs. Jumbo lying in a heap on the road.

‘ **What** did you do to her, Mr. Vandevere??’ the man, Max Medici, asked angrily, ‘ANSWER ME!!’

‘She nearly killed me, so Skellig shot her a few times’, Mr. Vandevere said, ‘What’s it to you, bald old oaf??’

‘I’ll tell you what, I think you better run’, Max said.

‘What are you going to do?’ Mr. Vandevere asked, ‘You’re too old and unfit to chase after me.’

‘I may not be able to, but Rongo is’, Max said as Rongo walked up to stand beside him.

‘Ok’ then’, Mr. Vandevere said hastily before he ran towards Dreamland with Rongo chasing after him, but not before pulling Anne along with him, ‘See you later, suckers!’

As soon as Mr. Vandevere, Anne and Rongo had vanished, Dumbo walked slowly and sadly up to his dead mother and trumpeted loudly, as if in mourning. **!!**

However, the whole situation became even more sad when Collette started singing “Baby Mine”; everyone couldn’t help but tear up. Even P.T was reduced to a sobbing mess.

‘I don’t know what’s come over me’, he sobbed, ‘But even the toughest among us must crack sometimes.’

‘I know’, Phillip sobbed as they hugged each other and burst into tears.

‘I c-can’t believe that they could h-have done this’, Max sobbed.

‘Me neither…’ Mr. Bates sobbed on the verge of tears.

‘Hey’, P.T sobbed, ‘We b-better go and rescue Anne a-again, don’t y-you think?’

‘Yes’, Phillip sobbed, ‘I think so.’

‘Everyone!’ P.T shouted, albeit with a quivering voice, ‘We’re g-going to Dreamland to r-rescue Anne again.’


	14. Chapter 14

Fifteen minutes later, when P.T and everyone else walked in through the main entrance of Dreamland, two security guards attempted to stop them going any further.

‘Hey!!’ they shouted as they ran up to P.T, ‘Get out of here! The park’s closed!’

‘Shut up and get out of our way, stupid berks!’ P.T shouted before Lettie pushed one of them backwards into his colleague, causing them to fall into the lake behind them.

‘Now’, P.T said, ‘Where could that drowned rat have taken Anne?’

Suddenly, a megaphone attached to a nearby pole blared with Mr. Vandevere’s voice, causing P.T and the rest of the troupe to jump in shock.

‘AAHHH!’ P.T shrieked, ‘What is that?’

‘Holy cheese!’ Phillip said, ‘It’s a talking pole!’

‘Please don’t send your wrath upon us!’ he and the rest of the troupe said to the pole as they bowed before it, causing Baritone Bates and Max Medici to roll their eyes in disbelief.

‘Seriously?’ Mr. Bates said, ‘Have you not heard of an electronic megaphone before?’

‘What does “electronic” mean?’ P.T asked in a confused voice.

‘Electrical objects are powered by electricity via wires that are connected to a main power source’, Mr. Bates replied, ‘Dreamland is filled with electrical equipment, from the lights to the rides and attractions.’

‘I see’, P.T said, ‘Oh, and one more question, even though it sounds ridiculous; what year are we in?’

‘The current year is 1919’, Mr. Bates replied.

‘What??’ P.T asked, ‘But I and the rest of the troupe were in 1871 only yesterday! How is that possible?’

‘Hm…’ Mr. Bates said, ‘You came to Coney Island via train, right?’

‘Yes’, P.T replied, ‘Why?’

‘Well, it seems to me that the train must have travelled 48 years into the future approximately half-way through the journey; Dumbo and Phillip must have as well. Going back via the same train will take you back to your own time, according to Mr. Vandevere’s prediction.’

‘Amazing!’ Phillip said, ‘We’re time travellers!’

‘So, has anything regarding my circus happened during the last 48 years? Is it even still operating?’ P.T asked.

‘Yes’, Mr. Bates replied, ‘In fact, it merged at the beginning of the year with another circus started by a group of brothers who I can’t remember the surname of, but I know it begins with “R”.’

‘Anyway’, Max said, ‘My circus, the Medici Bros. Circus, has been a business rival ever since it was founded in 1892.’

‘P.T?’ Anne said as she ran over to where everyone was gathered, ‘Praise cheese! I am sure that I would have been forced to serve Mr. Vandevere for the rest of my life if you hadn’t come.’

‘At least you’re safe with us now’, P.T said.

Suddenly, there were multiple flashes of light visible from the Control Tower.

‘Ha ha!’ Mr Vandevere shouted as he and the security guards ran out the main entrance, ‘You’ll never get out alive!’

‘Oh no!’ Mr. Bates said after seeing the lights inside the tower and them running out, ‘He didn’t, did he?’

Suddenly, Collette saw a burst of flame coming from the Colosseum.

‘Come on, everyone!’ she said as they ran for the gates, ‘It’s time to leave!’

**Fifteen minutes later…**

‘Hold on!’ Collette said in a panic, ‘Where’s W.D? He must be still inside!’

It was then that P.T ran into the inferno consuming Dreamland to rescue him, while Phillip and Lettie held Anne back. However, W.D had managed to escape by climbing over a side fence and ran back to the crowd.

‘W.D!’ Anne exclaimed when she hugged him, ‘Thank goodness you’re safe!’

‘Um…’ W.D said as he looked around, ‘Where’s P.T?’

‘Oh, goodness!’ Mr. Bates said as he gave his overcoat to Max and ran in to rescue P.T, just before the Colosseum collapsed in on itself.

‘NOOOO!’ Lettie shouted as everyone began sobbing, ‘P.T!!’

For a few long seconds, the only things that could be heard were the crackling of the fire and popping of lightbulbs and windows, until a soot-covered Mr. Bates emerged while carrying an unconscious P.T.

‘He’s taken in a lot of smoke, but he’s still breathing’, Mr. Bates said as he lay P.T on a waiting stretcher.

‘I’m going to go to see him at the hospital’, Phillip said while holding back tears.

‘Ok then’, Mr. Bates said when he gave him a piece of paper as the ambulance drove away, ‘The address you need to go to is on this piece of paper here.’

‘Thanks’, Phillip said before he ran after the ambulance.

‘Thank you so much’, Phillip said to a doctor who had agreed to take him to see P.T, ‘You don’t know how much this means to me.’

‘No problem’, the doctor said as the elevator doors closed and they were ascending to Floor Three, ‘I will warn you though; he arrived in a downright terrible condition, having been blackened and burned by the fire tonight.’

‘I’m sure I’ll be able to handle that, since I’ve been through it before when our original building was burnt down’, Phillip said.

‘Ok, if you say so’, the doctor said as he opened the door to P.T’s room before Phillip made a beeline for the bed.

**Two long hours later…**

Phillip had almost fallen out of his chair due to fatigue a couple of times, while P.T hadn’t moved at all or opened his eyes, so Phillip began quietly singing to him.

 _‘Oh, damn! Suddenly you’re free to fly…’_ he managed with tears threatening to spill over.

Still, there was no response.

 _‘…We’re going to the other side’_ , he sobbed softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rescue scene near the end is a reference to the fire scene in The Greatest Showman, where P.T rescues an unconscious Phillip from the burning building.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> P.T wakes up in hospital and thinks he's dead; he meets Baritone Bates' wife and kids.

The next morning, Mr. Vandevere and the two security guards who had been at Dreamland just before the fire started were arrested.

‘What is this about?’ Mr. Vandevere asked.

‘You and your guards are under arrest for misconduct and arson causing injury’, one of the police officers replied before he locked them into the back of a van.

‘Well’, Mr. Bates said as the van drove away, ‘Looks like they won’t be seeing the light of day for a long time yet.’

‘I know’, a female voice said, ‘Mr. Vandevere was such a narcissistic jerk who only cared about money.’

‘Of course, my darling’, Mr. Bates said to his wife, Melissa Painter-Bates, ‘At least I can come home to stay now, since Dreamland is gone.’

‘Speaking of Dreamland being gone’, Melissa said when she remembered reading in the morning paper that P.T had been severely burned in the fire, ‘Should we go to check on that Barnum guy?’

‘Yes’, Mr. Bates said, ‘I think we should, since I rescued him. Besides, it will be an excellent opportunity to introduce you to him.’

A total of nine and a half hours after the fire, P.T suddenly woke up and genuinely believed he was in Heaven, due to the mid-spring sun shining through the window and the way that Phillip’s shadow looked.

‘Ugh…it’s so bright up here that I can’t see a…’ he said before he saw Phillip sitting in the chair beside the bed.

‘Dad?’ he asked, ‘Is that you?’

‘No’, Phillip began before he was cut off, ‘I’m Phil…’

‘Oh, my goodness!’ P.T sobbed as he sat up and hugged him, ‘I never thought I would’ve met you again this early! Anyway, how are Mum and my three older siblings doing?’

‘P.T…’ Phillip said as he pulled back, ‘I’m not your father, I’m Phillip Carlyle, remember?’

P.T thought about this for a second and came up with the most rational answer that he could just as Collette, W.D, Mr. Bates and Melissa walked into the room.

‘Goodness me’, he said, ‘So, you died in the fire and came up to Heaven too, along with W.D, Collette, Mr. Bates and…who is that woman?’

‘Good morning, P.T’, Mr. Bates said, ‘Glad to see you’re awake. Anyway, I’d like you to meet…’

‘Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Bates’, Phillip said, ‘But I just need to tell P.T something.’

‘Ok’, Mr. Bates said as Phillip turned to face P.T.

‘P.T’, Phillip said, ‘Let’s get things straight. We’re not in Heaven; all of us survived the fire. You, however, got severe burns and were knocked unconscious in the fire and Mr. Bates rescued you before you were laid on a stretcher and taken here to the hospital.’

‘Oh’, P.T said, ‘No wonder I’m wrapped up in bandages then. Anyway, I’d like to thank Mr. Bates for rescuing me.’

‘No problem’, Mr. Bates said, ‘Now, before I was interrupted, I was going to introduce you to my wife, Melissa.’

‘Pleased to meet you, Melissa’, P.T said as she walked over to the bed.

‘Pleased to meet you, too’, Melissa said, ‘I’ve heard that you were the original ringmaster at your circus down south.’

‘Yes’, P.T said, ‘I retired recently to give the role to Phillip Carlyle, my apprentice.’

It was then that Melissa noticed something unusual about P.T.

‘You know, you seem no older than your mid-30’s, although you technically have lived for 81 years at least; you even survived your own death in 1881, going by you having been born on July 5th, 1837 and that we’re now in April 1919’, she said.

‘Ok, Melissa, that’s enough’, Mr. Bates said, ‘We don’t want to confuse him even more; he’s already been through a lot over the past 12 hours.’

‘I suppose you’re right’, Melissa said before she walked away, ‘It was nice talking to you, P.T.’

After lunch, when Phillip, Collette, W.D and Melissa had returned to the hotel that the rest of P.T’s troupe were staying at, Mr. Bates returned to P.T’s room.

‘P.T’, he said at the bedside, ‘How are you feeling?’

‘I’m getting a little bit better every hour’, P.T replied, ‘However, I haven’t been able to eat yet, only drink water.’

‘I see’, Mr. Bates said, ‘Anyway, I wanted to tell you something before when I was here but decided to wait until now while the room is empty.’

‘Ok’, P.T said, ‘What is it?’

‘I wanted to tell you about how I first met Melissa… Mr. Bates began.

_It was a warm summer evening in 1889; I had just turned 20 a week prior and was the secondary ringmaster at the Cooper Circus._

_However, that night, half-way through the show, my eyes saw the most beautiful girl in the world sitting with her parents in the front row of the audience. That’s when things started to go wrong for me; my tongue got tied while I was introducing the next act and I began to feel faint._

_“And…uh…l-let’s hear…uh…uh…uhhhhhhh…” I said._

_It was then that Mr. Cooper walked up to me and took over as the ringmaster while I had the rest of the night off._

_After the audience had left half an hour later, I and Melissa officially met for the first time._

_“Good evening, Mr. Bates”, she said, “I’m Melissa Painter. If I recall correctly, our eyes seemed to temporarily lock during the show.”_

_“Ah, yes”, I said, “That’s when I started to go funny with being unable to talk properly.”_

_“Yes”, Melissa said, “It looked so cute, especially when Mr. Cooper walked out and took over from you. Anyway, what’s your first name?”_

_“My birth name is Antonio, but everyone just knows me as Baritone Bates due to my voice”, I said, “My father is an Italian immigrant and a retired singer, while my mother is American.”_

_“I see”, Melissa said, “Well, Dad is an English-born Jew, while Mum is part Native-American; I don’t know which tribe though.”_

_“You’re part Native American?” I said in shock, “I never would have guessed.”_

_“Well, it doesn’t really show in me or Mum, which was the reason I was allowed to go to school as a child”, Melissa said.’_

A few minutes later, Melissa walked into the room again. However, she was not the only visitor.

‘Who is _that_ young fellow with you, Melissa?’ P.T asked, referring to the brown-skinned boy standing beside her.

‘Good afternoon, P.T’, Melissa replied, ‘I and Ant would like you to meet our 10-year old son, Edward.’

‘Pleased to meet you, Edward’, P.T said to the boy, ‘I’m P.T Barnum.’

‘No way!’ Edward exclaimed in excitement, ‘ _You’re_ the real P.T?’

‘Yes’, Mr. Bates said, ‘I rescued him from the fire last night.’

‘Oh’, Edward said, ‘I had read about that in the paper this morning. Where will you be working now that Dreamland is gone?’

‘I’m sure I’ll find another job somewhere locally’, Mr. Bates said, ‘Don’t worry.’

Suddenly, another well-dressed boy and girl walked into the room and put their bags beside two chairs and sat down.

‘Ah, Anthony and Jessica, you’ve decided to come’, Melissa said, ‘How was school today?’

‘I’ve got a paper to write on the first automobiles for History class’, Anthony said.

‘And I finished my in-class project for sewing class’, Jessica said, ‘The teacher was very impressed with the cushion cover that I showed you and Dad last week.’

‘I see’, Melissa said, ‘Well done then! You earned it.’

‘Thanks, Mum’, Jessica said.

‘Sorry to interrupt’, P.T said, ‘But who are these two?’

‘P.T’, Melissa said, ‘Meet Edward’s older sister, Jessica, and younger brother, Anthony.’

‘Pleased to meet you both’, P.T said, ‘I’ve already met your brother.’


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> W.D realises he loves Colette; Collette leaves the Medici troupe to join Barnum's Circus.

A couple of days later, it was time for P.T and the rest of the troupe to go home.

‘Goodbye!’ Mr. Bates said, followed by Max, Collette and Rongo, ‘We’re going to miss you!’

‘We’ll miss you guys too’, P.T said from the carriage window, ‘But I’m sure we’ll be remembered as time moves on, especially with that merger.’

‘By the way’, Phillip said, ‘Where is Dumbo? I don’t see him with you.’

‘Oh’, Max said, ‘You’ll be happy to know that he was released into the jungle in India, where he belongs with a herd of other elephants.’

‘Good’, Phillip said, ‘I hope he does well, then.’

‘Me too’, Max said as Collette walked up to W.D’s window, ‘After seeing how he and his mother were treated by Mr. Vandevere, we decided to send him to be released into the wild and gave up using wild animals in shows.’

‘I’m going to miss you, W.D’, Collette said.

‘Me too’, W.D said, ‘If only we could have spent more time together…’

Suddenly, the train whistle tooted on the locomotive up front.

‘Well, I guess this is goodbye’, W.D said.

‘Hold that thought for a minute…’ Collette said when she noticed she had just enough time to do one final thing, ‘There’s just something I want you to know.’

‘What’s tha…’ W.D began before she dragged him into a passionate kiss.

‘Whoa’, W.D said a few seconds later, ‘What was that for?’

‘Goodbye, my love’, Collette said before she walked away as the train pulled out of the station.

**Three hours later…**

‘Are you _sure_ about this, Collette?’ Max asked as she boarded a train and sat in one of the window seats.

‘I’m going back to 1871 to live with W.D’, Collette replied, ‘I’m going to miss you guys.’

‘Ok then’, Max said before the train left the station, ‘Goodbye!’

**The End!**


End file.
